Since their formation in 2017, MOLCHAT DOLMA gained a worldwide cult following with their first two albums ‘S Krysh Nashikh Domov’ and ‘Etazhii’.
From the off, the Belarusian trio had international ambitions and their popularity in Europe and the US led to the prestigious New York based independent label Sacred Bones signing MOLCHAT DOMA and releasing their third long player ‘Monument’ in 2020. Delivering a stark brand of post-punk that sounded like it had been demoed on a portastudio with dirty tape heads, with this highly derivative sound, MOLCHAT DOMA have been target of many jibing if affectionate memes by the @sounds.like.joy.division Instagram parody account.
But with ongoing political tensions in their homeland and having spoken out against the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Egor Shkutko (vocals), Roman Komogortsev (guitar, synthesizer, drum machine), and Pavel Kozlov (bass, synthesizer) relocated from Minsk to Los Angeles. The end result is their fourth album ‘Belaya Polosa’ which channels the anxiety and fear of that journey into exile to face a future of uncertainty.
With the inevitable comparisons to JOY DIVISION and THE CURE, MOLCHAT DOMA have always had a brutal gothic aesthetic that polarises in black and white. But on ‘Belaya Polosa’, in a new creative environment where the sun is shining on most days, the trio while remaining monochromatic have added some musical colour. While they have not turned into WHAM! or DURAN DURAN, the dancier but still sombre sequenced pulses of classic NEW ORDER and DEPECHE MODE have crept in for a more refined studio product that doesn’t come over like a third generation cassette duplication of THE WAKE or THE NAMES…
Full of front, ‘Ty Zhe Ne Znaesh Kto Ya’ is mighty as electronic body music dominates the mutant template with strident vocals on top to provide a punchy opening salvo. It highlights how MOLCHAT DOMA have grown from the band that released ‘Monument’ as synths stab and throb in a powerful cacophony of precise industrialised sound.
The magnificent ‘Kolesom’ offers glorious apocalyptic electronic disco with an obvious NEW ORDER influence although Bernard Sumner never sounded this foreboding! With an ominous baritone from Shkutko and minimal guitar, it is a commentary on the banality of modern life that acts as a dance in the dark.
‘Son’ is more of the expected MOLCHAT DOMA post-punk fare with its Doktor Avalanche backbone programmed by Komogortsev and accompanied by a gothic bass mantra from Kozlov. However, a surprise is sprung with a bubbly sequencer section appearing in the final third to provide a shimmering contrast to the largely morose mood.
The ‘Belaya Polosa’ title song heads into The Batcave, heavy drum loops and rumbling bass in post-Wilder ‘Ultra’ Mode while something of a sister song with a dominant rhythmic loop, ‘Chernye Tsvety’ is deeper and dreamier, dressed with Lynchian guitar and a hypnotic fretless bassline although in terms of execution, it recalls Swedish band LUSTANS LAKEJAR and their 1999 song ‘Cynisk’.
Fittingly by way of an extended interlude, ‘Beznadezhnyy Waltz’ captures a haunting Cold War atmosphere in a superbly eerie piano and synth instrumental with departing footsteps on wet cobbled paths to boot. But ‘III’ sees MOLCHAT DOMA doing sparkly New York electro dance influenced NEW ORDER with the keyboard solo action something a joy to behold before ‘Ne Vdvoem’ goes downtempo into the realm of THE CURE meeting TEARS FOR FEARS.
The excellent ‘Ya Tak Ustal’ utilises metallic samples that will be familiar to anyone who loved ‘Some Great Reward’ but MOLCHAT DOMA literally morph into Berlin-era DEPECHE MODE with only Shkutko’s vocals in Russian proving this is not Dave Gahan… if only DEPECHE MODE could still be this good today. Closing with the throbbing midtempo unease of ‘Zimnyaya’, this goes the full DEPECHE MODE hog with the chromatic six string interventions and digital drum computer beats authenticating the effect.
Having relatively polished up their sound and adapted to new environments both physically and musically, ‘Belaya Polosa’ is bursting with a chilling tension and drama that reflects the world at large from the point of view of those who have had to escape and find sanctuary. Sadness and defiance are simultaneously embraced as MOLCHAT DOMA leave behind their past. This timely musical document is undoubtedly their best album to date.
‘Belaya Polosa’ is released on 6 September 2024 via Sacred Bones in the usual formats, available from https://lnk.to/BelayaPolosa
MOLCHAT DOMA 2024 live dates:
Glasgow Galvanizers (October 20), Manchester New Century (October 22), Bristol SWX (October 23), London Roundhouse (October 24), Antwerp Trix (October 26), Utrecht Tivoli Vredenburg (October 27), Lille L’Aéronef (October 29), Lyon Le Transbordeur (October 31), Paris L’Olympia (November 2), Hamburg Große Freiheit 36 (November 4), Copenhagen Den Grå Hal (November 5), Oslo Sentrum Scene (November 7), Stockholm Fallan (November 9), Helsinki Kulttuuritalo (November 11), Tallinn Helitehas (November 12), Riga Palladium (November 13), Vilnius Compensa Concert Hall (November 14), Gdansk Stary Manez (November 16), Warsaw Progresja (November 17), Vienna Gasometer (November 21), Prague Lucerna Velký Sál (November 22), Berlin Tempodrom (November 23), Wiesbaden Schlachthof (November 25), Munich Theaterfabrik (November 26), Zurich X-TRA (November 27), Milan Fabrique (November 29)
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Text by Chi Ming Lai
3 September 2024
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